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Katong
Katong, also known as Tanjong Katong, is a residential neighbourhood in the eastern portion of the Central Region of Singapore, within Marine Parade planning area. It used to be located by the sea, but land has been reclaimed all the way to East Coast Park to provide more land for housing and recreational purposes due to the shortage of land in the late 1960s after Singapore gained independence. Katong was the location of many villas and mansions of the wealthy elite in the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. They made their fortunes in the Far East and built seaside resorts, villas and manors along the beachfront of Katong, beginning from Katong Park to the end of the East Coast. Katong's rich cultural mix has contributed to its unique cuisine. Katong is well known for its restaurants serving Peranakan cuisine and particularly, a spicy Straits Chinese noodle soup called Katong Laksa. History Before 1917, Joo Chiat Road was known as the Confederate Estate Road. At that time, most of the land in the area belonged to the Little family. The road name changed after Chew Joo Chiat ( ), a famous prominent ethnic Chinese businessman of Peranakan descent who became the owner of most of the land in the area around Joo Chiat Road. Chew bought land from the Alsagoff family as well as the Little family to plant spices, such as nutmeg, gambier and pepper which were in great demand by Europeans. In 1903, Chew added more land to his plantation by purchasing more than an acre of land for $35,000/- from Henry William Crane. Later, he turned all his land into coconut plantations when copra became a cash crop. His foresight and business acumen made him a wealthy land owner. In 1913, he bought at auction 5 freehold building allotments fronting the Confederate Estate Road to further increase his land holding. In early 1917 Joo Chiat Road was still a cart track going through Chew's plantation, and as such it was a private road maintained by him. Transportation of local produce was by bullock carts. Joo Chiat area was then under the jurisdiction of the Rural Board. When the Municipal Limit extended into Joo Chiat Road, the Municipality wanted to construct a road for motor vehicles from Geylang Serai to the beach. There was no land acquisition law in force at that time, so the Municipality offered to buy the stretch of Chew's land (the Confederate Estate Road) to construct a road for motor vehicles. Chew saw the benefit of a transport infrastructure going through his land, and bequeathed the road to the authority without compensation. For his generosity, the road was named after him: Joo Chiat Road. As more people moved into area around Joo Chiat Road, especially along East Coast Road, there was a big demand for housing. Chew divided his land into building lots and sold them to developers to build houses. Subsequent establishment of some of Singapore’s earliest season houses and holiday bungalowsShaw, Brian. J., & Ismail, R. (2006). Ethnoscapes, entertainment and ’eritage in the global city: Segmented spaces in Singapore’s Joo Chiat Road. GeoJournal, 66(3), 187-198. doi:10.1007/s10708-006-9029-9 resulted in Joo Chiat becoming a wealthy and upper middle class suburb with a relaxing and scenic locale. Today, Joo Chiat Road is best known for its colourful rows of traditional Peranakan shophouses, dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, that line the narrow street. Joo Chiat’s development began with attendant amenities and an electric tramway was built between the Joo Chiat-Changi Market and Tanjong Pagar. During Chew Joo Chiat's lifetime, Katong area was confined mainly along Meyer Road from Tanjong Katong Road towards Katong Park. In Joo Chiat area, Katong did not exist then. From 1926 onward to World War II saw an influx of Straits Chinese into Joo Chiat when their traditional enclave, Telok Ayer, became overcrowded. Schools were also established in the area: Telok Kurau English Primary School in 1923 and Saint Patrick's School in 1933. New roads linked the area to the city. In 1932, the Roman Catholic Holy Family Church was completed, attracting to the area a predominantly Catholic Eurasian community. Chew Joo Chiat was known as King of Katong after his death on 5 February 1926. Seaview Hotel and the Singapore Swimming Club were also opened in the 1930s, providing the area's wealthier residents with leisure facilities. With the development of Joo Chiat into a small town, the East Coast – stretching from Mountbatten to Siglap – was no longer solely a weekend retreat for the Europeans and rich Chinese and Eurasians who owned the luxurious seaside bungalows there. Post-war to 1966 Joo Chiat area can be thought of as a ‘linear activity corridor’ linking Geylang, Katong and Marine Parade.Shaw, Brian. J., & Ismail, R. (2006). Ethnoscapes, entertainment and ’eritage in the global city: Segmented spaces in Singapore’s Joo Chiat Road. GeoJournal, 66(3), 187-198. doi:10.1007/s10708-006-9029-9 The area used to house comfort ladies during the Japanese occupation and after the war, it became an active retail and entertainment hub in the 1950s and 1960s, with popular supermarket Tay Buan Guan, Red House Katong Bakery and food specialties such as Katong Laksa. Changi Market (now Joo Chiat Complex) at Joo Chiat Road became an important trading centre for Malays from Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. They traded in food, flowers and spices, which remain a major part of the area's economy today. The development of Geylang Serai in the 60s also prompted the government to build mosques and theatres in Joo Chiat. There were other amenities for the community living there including a police station, schools and health centre. 1967- 1975 As Singapore’s population grew and people started to move out from the overcrowded city centre, Joo Chiat’s community increased. 4 more schools were built along with a community centre. Joo Chiat continued to be the entertainment hub with Galaxy theatre and the addition of 2 more shopping centres. 1976 – 1984 East Coast reclamation started in 1966 and lasted for two decades until 1985. Its reclamation changed the physical landscape of the area with the modification of the coastline, landscape and even the removal of Katong jetty. Coupled with new high rise housing estate in East Coast, Joo Chiat slowly lost its distinct identity amid this de-territorialisation process.Shaw, Brian. J., & Ismail, R. (2006). Ethnoscapes, entertainment and ’eritage in the global city: Segmented spaces in Singapore’s Joo Chiat Road. GeoJournal, 66(3), 187-198. doi:10.1007/s10708-006-9029-9 The late 70s and early 80s also saw more road changes where adjacent streets were linked up to ease commute. Taj Cinema, adjacent to the markets, was also renamed by Shaw to Singapura theatre. However, Singapura theatre lost its attractiveness with the rise of cinematography and eventually shut down in 1985. 1985 - 1995 In 1993, the area around Joo Chiat Road was gazetted as a conservation district. As a result, shophouses and bungalows reflecting the typical architectural styles of the turn of the twentieth century have been preserved, as well as many unique and straits eclectic style Chinese shophouses which give the area its true flavour. The area is also known for eateries specialising in Peranakan delicacies. As the Kampongs in Geylang made way for HDBs, a museum to showcase the life of Malays was proposed in the 70s. This museum, Geylang Serai Malay Village, was completed in 1989 and located at the start of Joo Chiat Road. The period also saw many more buildings for retail purposes such as Galaxy Complex, Katong Mall, Roxy Square and Paramount Shopping Centre. 1996 - 2007 Brothels in central region were removed by the government from 1959 onwards and these brothels have shifted to Geylang. The spread of sex industry from Geylang to the surrounding area created a profound effect on the type of business in Joo Chiat in the 90s and early 2000s. More bars are found along the street and along with it, budget hotels that offer rooms by the hours. This negatively affected the identity of Joo Chiat as well as causing great inconvenience to the residents there. Moreover, during the late 90s and early 2000s, more schools and churches were built at the outskirts of Joo Chiat area, presumably for the larger community there. Present In 2011, the vicinity surrounding Joo Chiat Road was declared Singapore's first Heritage Town. It is chosen, in part, because of strong efforts to promote its Peranakan culture. Politics The Joo Chiat SMC was a ward in the Parliament of Singapore. However, the Joo Chiat area is not in Joo Chiat area, but also moved to Siglap (eastwards). For the general election 2015, the ward had ceased to exist and became Marine Parade GRC. Shopping Centres 112 Katong 112 Katong, formerly Katong Mall, is a 7 storey shopping mall in the east of Singapore located at the intersection of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road. The mall opened on 18 November 2011, but Timothy Mok went on 7 December 2011. We were at the former Katong Mall in 2009 to buy a refrigerator and were delivered to the house respectively. Completed in late 1983 as Katong People's Complex, it had an exterior facade resembling a prison cell, such as having exposed blue pipes. It was a strata titled mall back then, comprising a department store and various shops and eateries. There are also numerous medical clinics inside the mall. In 1995, the facade was revamped and was renamed Katong Mall. The department store was replaced by Cold Storage supermarket, and various education centres occupied the upper floors of the mall. The mall's basements contained an electronics store and various strata titled units. In 2009, because of bad business, Pua Seck Guan, former chief executive of CapitaLand Retail, bought Katong Mall in a $247.55 million deal as part of an en bloc sale. A private trust called Perennial Katong Retail Trust was subsequently formed to buy the mall from Tuan Sing Holdings' Golden Cape Investment. The trust's investors included corporate and institutional investors and Pua. The mall closed its doors in mid 2010 for a major makeover, to help revitalize the mall. When it reopened as 112 Katong in late 2011, it featured a Peranakan theme, as a reminder of its location. The mall also featured a cinema, a food court, a gourmet supermarket, banks and more than 150 specialty shops. It also featured a wet and dry playground on the fourth floor. In early 2016, Keppel Land acquired a 22.4% stake from the owners at $51.4 million. In May 2016, plans were announced to redevelop the play deck on the fourth floor into an alfresco dining area. There are plans for a non-profit organisation to take up space in the mall too. 112 Katong housed high-end Danish furniture store BoConcept after it relocated from Devonshire Road. Cortina Watch which previously has only downtown outlets became the first luxury-watch retailer to have a presence in a suburban mall. 112 Katong had housed the Golden Village cinema since it was opened and Daniel Mok wants to watch there. In December 2018, Keppel Land acquired the remaining 77.6% stake of the mall from the subsidiary of Alpha Asia Macro Trends Fund at the price of $56.6m. The shopping mall will be closed down from 1 March 2020 to 2021 for renovations. Katong Shopping Centre Katong Shopping Centre (Chinese: 加东购物中心) is a shopping mall located along Mountbatten Road in Singapore. Established in 1971 and opened to the public in 1973, it is the first air-conditioned mall in Singapore. Katong Shopping Centre is situated around Odeon Theater, Church of the Holy Family, and Roxy Square, as well as several hotels, such as Paramount Hotel and the Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel. The aging mall was once home to mostly textile, shoe and food outlets, and now houses a large number of services which include tailoring, photocopying and the karaoke under the BMB. BMB distributes karaoke for various places, which is in 35 Waringin Walk, 88 Medway Drive, 106 Lentor Street, Fragrant Gardens, Hillview Regency, Serangoon North Block 548, Tampines Block 123, Ivory Heights and Pasir Ris Block 159. It was later replaced by ELAC speakers in February 2017. Katong Shopping Centre is one of the places that had en-bloc sales. In mid January 2010, 80% of the 410 owners gave their approval to the en bloc sales. Owners were expected to receive a reserve price of at least $2000 per sq ft. In August 2011, the mall embarked on the first attempt on the en-bloc sales, slated to complete in the mid-2012. But the $445 million deal fell through. Back then, the apportioned value to the owner was an average of $2,000 to $2,800 per square foot. As of June 2014, the second attempt came again. The asking price could be higher than the first attempt in 2011. But pricing is a big issue and could continue to be a sticking point, with some units at the mall transacting at attractive prices recently. A small shop unit at the mall was sold recently for more than $6,300 per square foot in May 2014. Two months earlier, another shop fetched over $4,200 per sq ft.